Dr. Megan Quigley Discusses T. S. Eliot and what Scholars are Learning from the Recently Unsealed Hale Archive

Listen to Dr. Megan Quigley, as she joins T. S. Eliot experts Frances Dickey and John Whittier-Ferguson on a podcast to discuss the revelations of the Hale archive: 1, 131 letters written by T. S. Eliot to his longtime love and correspondent, Emily Hale (pictured below). The letters, called the most famous sealed literary archive in the world, were under lock and key at Princeton’s Firestone library until 50 years after the deaths of Eliot and Hale.

Their contents have transformed what scholars thought they knew about Eliot, as he points out his sources, undermines key ways we interpret his works—such as Modernist impersonality—and confesses his dreams and goals. And then he burns her side of the correspondence!

Matt Seybold is the host on this episode of the American Vandal podcast.

A Conversation with Merve Emre -- March 23

 Please join Dr. Megan Quigley and Dr. Kamran Javadizadeh for a conversation with Merve Emre, associate professor of English at the University of Oxford, author of The Personality Brokers: The Strange History of Myers-Briggs and the Birth of Personality Testing (2018) and Paraliterary: The Making of Bad Readers in Postwar America (2017), and editor of a new annotated edition of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway

The event will take place on Zoom at 4pm on Tuesday, March 23. Please register here to receive the link.

Dr. Jean Lutes and Dr. Travis Foster Discuss Gender, American Literature and White Supremacy

Please join Villanova English faculty Dr. Jean Lutes and Dr. Travis Foster on Tuesday, March 16 for "We Have Been Here All Along: Gender, American Literature, and White Supremacy," an event to celebrate the publication of a new collection of essays on Gender in American Literature and Culture. The volume, co-edited by Dr. Lutes, will be published this month by Cambridge University Press and features essays by Dr. Lutes and Dr. Foster.

The book introduces readers to key developments in gender studies and American literary criticism. It offers nuanced readings of literary conventions and genres from early American writings to the present and moves beyond inflexible categories of masculinity and femininity that have reinforced misleading assumptions about public and private spaces, domesticity, individualism, and community. The book also demonstrates how rigid inscriptions of gender have perpetuated a legacy of violence and exclusion in the United States. Responding to a sense of 21st century cultural and political crisis, it illuminates the literary histories and cultural imaginaries that have set the stage for urgent contemporary debates.

Also speaking at the event will be Dr. Lutes's co-editor, Dr. Jennifer Travis, professor and chair of English at St. John's University, as well as two contributors to the volume: Dr. Brigitte Fielder, associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Dr. Seulghee Lee, assistant professor of African American and English literature at the University of South Caroline.

The event will be held on Zoom, starting at 7.30pm. You can register here.

Just Published: Dr. Heather Hicks on Post-2000 American Apocalyptic Fiction

Congratulations to Dr. Heather Hicks, whose timely chapter, "Disaster Response in Post-2000 American Apocalyptic Fiction," was just published in a collection of essays on Apocalypse in American Literature and Culture by Cambridge University Press.

Dr. Hicks's essay explores contemporary scholarship on apocalyptic fiction, noting that growing alarm about climate change has begun to raise pragmatic questions about this genre’s effects: What responses does apocalyptic narrative condition readers to have before, during, and after a catastrophic event? She observes that many critics have objected to the clichéd content of dystopian apocalyptic narratives, claiming that their bleak visions induce resignation in readers rather than a will to assert their political and personal agency. Meanwhile, a number of scholars associated with “disaster studies” have noted that the history of twentieth-century disasters suggests that people actually tend to be at their most compassionate after a catastrophe. In response to this tension, Dr. Hicks's essay takes a dialectical approach to understanding both the critical and reparative aspects of twenty-first-century American apocalyptic fiction. In the first half, it demonstrates that the violent mythmaking in this work is both symptomatic of the “elite panic” characterized by disaster studies and reflective of other decidedly American ideologies. The second half identifies how some of these same apocalyptic texts complicate or even counteract expectations of panic, theft, and violence, providing insights for how readers might cultivate cooperation and community in the wake of an apocalyptic event.

Meet the New Members of the Student Advisory Council

Please join us in welcoming Villanova English majors Ava Lundell, Erin Neilsen, Sarina Sandwell, and Amanda Smith, who joined the Student Advisory Council at our meeting at the beginning of the month. You can learn more about them below. For bios and pics of all the members of the 2020-21 Student Advisory Council, see here.

The Student Advisory Council plays a critical role in making the English major a vibrant, welcoming community. Members serve as consultants for the faculty and as peer advisers for new majors. They also help promote the major to prospective and undeclared students throughout the academic year. If you're interested in joining, please contact Dr. Joe Drury at joseph.drury@villanova.edu.

Ava Lundell (alundell@villanova.edu)

I am a sophomore English major with minors in History and Public Administration. I grew up in Washington, D.C., but most of my family lives in the Midwest (either around Michigan or in Chicago). Growing up in D.C. definitely shaped my career goals, instilling in me the importance of policy and politics in changing American lives for the better. Therefore, I plan to enter the field of public policy (more specifically, education policy). After graduating, I would like to work with Teach for America for two years and then pursue my Master’s in education policy. I hope to further promote equal access to quality education for all Americans. My extracurricular activities include Blue Key Society and InterVarsity. I am also a research assistant for two professors investigating disability discussions in K-12 education. I love to read, especially historical fiction novels! One of my current favorites is All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.

Erin Neilsen (eneilsen@villanova.edu)

I am a sophomore student from Nashville, Tennessee. I am majoring in English and minoring in Business and Communication. At Villanova, I am a member of NOVAdance Committee, and I serve as the Chi Omega Philanthropy Chair. Outside of Villanova, I have started my own swim lesson business FINS and am often found outside exercising! As a member of the Student Advisory Council, I am looking forward to sharing my positive experience with the Villanova English Department with current and prospective students.

Sarina Sandwell (ssandwel@villanova.edu)

I am a sophomore English major with a Chinese minor. At Villanova, I am an orientation counselor, as well as host of the radio show “altronica” on Villanova WXVU where I play indie/alternative/rock music. My favorite books are Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison and There There by Tommy Orange. I am also a huge fan of the science fiction and horror genres. After graduation, I plan to continue studying literature in the hopes of pursuing a career in teaching.

Amanda Smith (asmit151@villanova.edu)

I am a junior English major with minors in Education and Spanish from Wilton, CT. At Villanova I work as a tutor in the Villanova Writing Center, am a member of and the secretary of Club Judo, and serve as a leader in the Sophomore Service Learning Community. I have passions for service and working with kids and throughout my time at Villanova I have always made time to serve in a school in the areas surrounding our campus. After I graduate, I hope to earn my teaching certification to teach elementary education. 

Just Published! Villanova English Alum Jess Swoboda on Postcritique

Check out this terrific article, "Practicing Acknowledgment," by Villanova English alum Jess Swoboda ('15), which was just published in The Point. 

Jess, pictured below with Dr. Megan Quigley, is currently enrolled in the University of Virginia PhD program.

Call for Submissions: The Foundationalist

The Foundationalist, an undergraduate literary journal ran collaboratively by editorial teams at Bowdoin College, Yale University, and the University of Iowa, is currently accepting submissions for its next issue. The editors are interested in literary essays, poetry, fiction, and creative non-fiction, as well as anything written for class. There are no page limits or themes. More information and submission guidelines can be found here.The deadline for submission is March 21, 2021.

If selected, the author’s writing will be published on academia.edu and in print format.